


child of the revolution

by radioteeth



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), My Chemical Romance, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Post-Canon, maya the psychic is the girls mom btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioteeth/pseuds/radioteeth
Summary: The Girl tells her mother about life in the desert, what little history she knows, how she grew up- mostly crashing on Tommy’s couch and with whatever crew might take her in for a week or two, flying under the radar. Maya tells her daughter about the grand history of California, the Wars, and the killjoys that had fought for her.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 26





	child of the revolution

**Author's Note:**

> title is from t. rex's _children of the revolution_.   
> thanks to [pink](https://hyperthrust.tumblr.com) for beta'ing (and also introducing me to t. rex) <333   
> no content warnings for this one- but i put a little reference or two to one of my favorite movies in >:3 !!

_ Poison moves like they’re in a dream, following the Girl and her mother. She still has their mask. It’s almost broken in half by now, worn from being left out in the desert for so many years and then fought over by the Girl and the Ultra Vs when they’d met. _

_ But their spirit’s stayed tied to it- roaming the sands, watching over the Girl. _

_ She’s nearly their age, now- or the age when they died, at least. A few more years to go, as far as they can recall. Not that it’ll be a difficult feat, considering how peaceful the desert’s become. _

_ Sure, there are still roaming gangs, killjoys who are more interested in general mischief and murder now that there’s nothing to rebel against, causing problems and starting fights wherever they can find. _

_ But the vast majority- both citizens and ‘joys- are working together to rebuild and repaint parts of the City, get fresh food and water to the desert. It’s the closest to utopia that Poison can imagine, because everyone’s  _ free. 

_ Except them, really. _

The Girl makes her way towards the Mailbox, leading her mother on a journey through the Zones. It’s slow going- there are old friends to greet along the way, other masks to collect, and she and her mother often stop to talk about her life.

“After the Wars, the DJs set up a radio network across the Zones,” she explains, when her mother-  _ Maya,  _ Poison had learned her name a little while ago- asks. “I’m friends with- I was friends with them, but WKIL…”

Maya nods understandingly. “Doctor Death Defying was my closest friend,” she murmurs, laying a gentle hand on the Girl’s shoulder. “I wish I could have caught up with him before he died.”

The Girl nods and sighs. “They shut Pony down too- or... they shut themself down, I guess. You know about the Ultra Vs, and Chimp and Newsagogo got captured a little before I met up with Cherri again, but Tommy Chow Mein is still alive…”

“That  _ bastard!”  _ Maya barks a laugh, and the Girl looks vaguely surprised. “I remember him, he and the Doctor dated for a little while, broke up when he put Zone Three up for sale, he’s a sleazy fucker with a heart of gold.”

“He tried to sell me  _ magazines  _ instead of  _ food, _ ” the Girl mutters, slouching.

“He was like that when I knew him too,” Maya says, patting her daughter’s head. “Is his shop still in Five?”

The Girl nods, shifting her backpack. They’re walking today, despite the fact that transportation is plentiful now. Old habits die hard.

_ That was when she bought my mask,  _ Poison thinks frantically. 

The Girl bought their mask even though she needed food, and they didn’t even get to say goodbye.

They’re jolted out of their train of thought as the Girl and Maya share more and more stories, opening up more and more. It’s strange to watch- Poison had never known any kind of affection from their parents in the City, they and Kobra had been left to fend for themselves save for the bare minimums: food, water, shelter, and tutoring if either were behind in school.

The Girl tells her mother about life in the desert, what little history she knows, how she grew up- mostly crashing on Tommy’s couch and with whatever crew might take her in for a week or two, flying under the radar. Maya tells her daughter about the grand history of California, the Wars, and the killjoys that had fought for her.

Eventually, the Girl pauses. “Mom, I wanted to ask…”

It’s one of the few times she’s called Maya her mother so far, and Maya stares at her curiously.

“What were you gonna name me? When I was a baby, I mean.”

Maya hesitates. Poison wants to reach out to hug them both- it’s a hard question, because names are one of  _ the  _ most important pieces of a killjoy’s identity, and the Four had only called the Girl ‘the Girl’ because they’d wanted her to choose her own name when she thought it was right.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Maya sighs. “I didn’t think you were gonna make it, I was going to name you on the day you were born if you did.”

The Girl’s shoulders slump just a little. It’s a let-down, of course. She had been turning names over in her mind-  _ Sparrow, Motorbaby, Artemis-  _ but none of them had felt  _ right,  _ none of them had felt like something that was hers. She sighs.

“It’s okay, Mom,” she mumbles, and then brightens a little. “Can we pick one out together, then? It’s kinda boring to just be  _ the Girl,  _ it’s not like I’m the only chick in the Zones.”

Maya laughs, all the worry clearing from her face. “Of course, kiddo. You have anything in mind?”

The Girl shakes her head. “I wanted something like the Four, ‘cause I miss them a little, but what would that be? Ghost?  _ Cyanide?  _ That’s so lame.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Maya promises. “Okay, kiddo? Besides, there’s nothing but time nowadays.”

Poison loses track of the conversation from there. It spirals out into name possibilities and being trans and masks and colors and the Witch-

“That’s my  _ other  _ mom?” the Girl squawks, and whoops, looks like Poison had forgotten to tell her while they were still alive. 

⁂

When they fade back into what could be probably classified as consciousness, the Girl is laying by a small campfire. Maya’s already fast asleep, but she stares up at the night sky as she plays with Poison’s mask.

“I can’t remember your face,” she whispers to it, and  _ oh,  _ Poison wants to hug her again. “But sometimes I wish it was different. Maybe if you were still around, I would’ve gotten Mom back sooner. I would’ve liked to say bye to you, I guess.”

She sighs and turns on her side, curling up under the blankets, and Poison stares into the fire.

⁂

_ The Witch is fading. A feather or two every day- the desert no longer needs her as a symbol of hope. She’ll continue her duties as a psychopomp, a guide of the dead, but her as a deity- the Zones’ belief in her will die out with the last of the killjoys. _

_ Her shopping cart rattles. Soon it will be discarded and the mailboxes will fall into ruin, masks will be forgotten, and souls will be collected through other means. Perhaps they will return to gravestones, or invent something new.  _

_ Everything, even her stories, must have an end. _

_ “Party Poison,” she greets gently, and they look up from their place by the campfire. “You know you’re due at the mailbox soon, you cannot stay here forever.” _

_ They nod. They know.  _

_ “However,” she continues. “I heard the Girl. It’s not often I hear any kind of prayer, nowadays; the citizens never cared for me in the first place, and the killjoys are too busy celebrating.” _

_ They’re not sure how much time has passed since the City fell. Time seems to slide by them, only catching occasionally- a dozen years felt like the blink of an eye, but they’re not surprised. Life moves fast out here. _

_ “I think I could allow you a little time before I collect your soul.” She extends her hand towards Poison. “My daughter has had a hard life, and I believe closure would be important to her. Do you accept?” _

_ Poison takes her hand. _

⁂

When Poison wakes-  _ wakes? They haven’t done  _ that  _ in awhile-  _ it’s to a boot in their ribs, and the Girl standing over them.

“Ow,” they mutter. “Heya, Girlie, y’haven’t grown much, have you? Still smaller than a grasshopper.”

The Girl narrows her eyes, and then recognition dawns on her face. “ _ Poison?”  _ she asks incredulously. 

“Th’ one and only, kiddo,” Poison says, sitting up with a groan. There’s still something incorporeal about them- are they  _ glowing?  _ Oh well! _ \-  _ but they can be seen and heard, and evidently kicked.

Her eyes widen and she throws herself at Poison, wrapping them in a hug that would probably choke them, had they needed to breathe. “I thought I was being stupid last night, but the Witch seriously brought you back? Where’s everyone else?”

Poison returns the hug, albeit more gently. “Everyone else is in th’ Mailbox, cricket. You got my mask still, so I can pop in to say hi til you drop it off. I guess you already met the Witch, though, huh? She’s pretty cool.”

The Girl seems to take the information in stride, and nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, she’s my other mom- she doesn’t visit often, but I guess she was listening?” 

“Mhm,” Poison confirms. “She’s th’ one you wrote all those letters to- she always told me she liked to read ‘em, I’m sorry I never told you when y’ were little.”

She shrugs, seeming unbothered. “Mom- Maya- told me. So it’s okay. This is all just...new? I ran away, so I was alone for awhile. And now Mom’s back, and you’re visiting…”

Poison nods. “Should also probably tell you Ghoulie’s your brother. Half-brother, I guess.” 

“I knew that already, actually. He dreamwalks sometimes.” The Girl seems so nonchalant about it-  _ hello,  _ she’s practically a  _ demigod-  _ that Poison has to laugh. She joins them a moment later, grinning, and then hops to her feet. 

“You can meet Maya-  _ Mom _ ,” she says earnestly. “We’re going to the Mailbox- we might stop and get a car sometime soon. You can drive again, if you wanted?”

Poison giggles as they get up and dust themself off. Walking again is weird now, and they can see the camp a few yards away. Maya’s crouched by the fire cooking breakfast, and she looks up and waves to them.

They wave back as the Girl leads them over, quietly and seriously explaining what she can- Maya was a draculoid, and then she came back, and  _ oh,  _ Poison probably knows all this already, to which they reply that she can tell them whatever she wants, even if they’ve already heard about it.

“Party Poison?” Maya asks when they arrive at the fire. There’s something in her eyes, like she knows something they don’t. But then it clicks- her name, they’ve heard it before, in old stories passed down from the original killjoys.

“The one and only,” Poison replies.

“I thought you were.” She smiles. “You took good care of the Girl while I was gone, I’m not surprised the Witch let you visit. Do you need breakfast?”

⁂

The day passes without much excitement. Poison trails behind Maya and the Girl for most of it, not wanting to intrude on anything, and still getting used to walking again instead of floating along as a vague sliver of consciousness. Maya had given their mask to them earlier, and they turn it over in their hands, thinking.

It’s their only tie to this plane, now. It holds their memories, their soul, and it’s just this little piece of yellow plastic, the blue and black detailing nearly worn away. It’s split above the eye on one side, faded by sun, but it’s still  _ here.  _

“Poison!” the Girl calls, waving them over. “Hurry up, Mom’s going into town, she said we can explore while she tries to find a room and a car.”

Poison glances up from their mask and makes their way over to her. In front of them is what used to be a neutral settlement- Santa Carla, they think. Just a few miles from the ocean, assuming it’s still there. The Four had visited once, to find a birthday gift for the Girl. (They’d decided on the twenty-first of March, since it was the first day of spring, and nobody actually knew her real birthday, not even the Doctor.)

Now it’s a sprawling, bustling little town, houses painted in bright colours. They could swear they see a familiar face or two, a decade older than they remember, passing along the street.

“Where are we exploring first?” Poison asks, scanning the street.

“I wanted to see the market, remember when I was a kid and you guys brought me here?” She grins. “I think you got me a new jacket, and some of that candy? Honey and prickly pear, yeah! And the robot!”

“Mhm, that was when y’ were about three-quarters the size you are now.”

The Girl nods, and then stops and frowns. “I’m taller than that.”

“No you aren’t,” Poison giggles.

“Am too! I’m five foot two and a half inches!”

“If the half inch matters, then you’re  _ definitely _ short,” Poison says wisely. 

The Girl sighs and sticks her tongue out at them. “ _ You’re  _ short, why else would you have worn platform boots all the time?”

A pause. “That’s actually kind of a fair point,” Poison giggles, and ruffles the Girl’s hair. “I knew I taught you well.”

She laughs, grinning. “Mom gave me carbons, too, I think we can take a look for some food or whatever, but, um, I wanted to talk to you while we walked..?”

“What is it?” Poison asks gently, leading the way through the winding streets.

The Girl hesitates, nervously brushing some of her hair out of her face. “My name. Mom said she didn’t have one picked out, so…”

Poison sighs. “We didn’t either. We thought y’ would pick your own in due time, but uh, that didn’t happen. Didn’t you ask her if you could pick one out together?”

If the Girl’s surprised they know that, she doesn’t let on. “Yeah, I guess. But you guys were kinda my first family, so I was thinking you might have some kinda idea? I don’t want a  _ killjoy  _ name, though.”

“Hm.” Poison toys with the zipper on their jacket. “You know I went by Paris for a while,” they suggest.

The Girl shakes her head. “Too fancy.”

Poison lists off a few more possibilities, other names they’d considered. The Girl frowns at each one, shoots it down without a moment’s hesitation, before they pause for a moment. “My City name meant somethin’ like sunrise, y’know.”

Something seems to  _ click.  _

“No shit,” the Girl says. “That’s  _ cool. _ Do you think a similar name would suit me?”

They tilt their head, seeming to turn the idea over in their mind. “... I wouldn’t’ve suggested it if it wasn’t. I think the same exact name would be too much, you want to honor the past, not drag it around with you for the rest of your life-” The Girl nods at this. “- but we can figure something out,” they promise.

The Girl nods. It seems like a weight’s been taken off her shoulders, and she smiles as she continues the walk towards the center of town. 

Santa Carla is... _ strange.  _ It’s no longer grey and beige and falling apart at the seams; everything’s been covered with a layer of color and patched up til it looks shiny and new. There’s plants growing everywhere, too. Instead of trying to create a ‘sterile’ atmosphere, sagebrush and aloe plants line the streets. 

The Girl pauses to inspect a small garden- it’s all tiny succulent plants, barely sprouted, but there’s so many colors compared to used to be there, that it’s almost overwhelming. 

A group of killjoys fly by on motorbikes, heading out of town- towards the ocean, as far as Poison can tell. There’s no sense of urgency or fear, only excitement-and the strangest thing by far is the fact that they don’t have any rayguns within easy reach. Probably inside their backpacks, sure- but not constantly needing one is an alien concept to Poison.

“ _ Whoa.”  _ The Girl laughs delightedly as she watches the bikes fly down the road. “I want a bike, I never got to learn how to ride one when I was a kid.”

“You didn’t?”

“Nah, I just hitchhiked, it wasn’t too bad.” She shrugs. “I think I’d be good at it. D’you think Twenty-Seven is still around?”

Poison shakes their head. “Pretty sure she’s in a museum somewhere in the city.”

“I want a bike like  _ that, _ ” the Girl continues. “I’d paint it bright green.”

“Good choice,” Poison says, narrowly avoiding tripping over a discarded can of spray paint. A mural on the side of a building is still drying- someone’s rendition of DESTROYA, in bold, beautiful colors.

It’s not long before they reach the market.  _ This  _ part of town, at least, is relatively unchanged- though a bit more colorful, of course. There are still the shoddy stalls and occasional  _ actual  _ storefronts, but nowadays water is plentiful and nobody’s scared of getting murdered for trying to scrape up basic supplies.

The Girl takes the lead this time, weaving around stalls while Poison tries not to get caught up in memories. She’s distracted talking to a vendor for a few minutes, and they quickly hurry a few stalls away before she notices them leave. 

A quick conversation and a few carbons later, Poison has a shiny new plastic... _ something,  _ a smaller version of the robot she’d carried around as a kid. 

They’re back before she realizes they’d gone missing, and they tap on her shoulder.

“Oh, hey, Poison,” she says cheerfully. The vendor stares at the two of them wide-eyed as she drops a few carbons onto the table and picks up the plastic bag. “We should get going soon, Mom’s gonna be waiting.”

“She radio you?” they ask, turning to follow her out of the market. 

“Yeah, she said it’s the motel a couple blocks away,” the Girl explains, clumsily digging through the bag. After a few moments, she holds up a small jar of prickly pear jam. “I remembered you liked this…”

Poison takes it with a gentle smile. “Thanks, cricket.”

⁂

Maya has a car the next morning. It’s a beat up old thing, chipped brown paint and broken windows, but it runs, and she lets Poison run their hands over the hood and have a little heart-to-heart with it before they drive, and that’s all they can ask for. 

“Mom?” The Girl speaks up over the roar of wind as Poison speeds down Route Guano, and Maya turns around from where she sits in the passenger seat.

“What is it?” she asks. “Did you forget something?”

The Girl rolls her eyes. “No, it’s about my name. Pois’ and I talked a little, and they said I could pick one like their City name if I talked it over with you?”

Maya pauses. 

Poison focuses on the road ahead, but lets themself think of the name and its meaning. Assuming the old stories are true, she’ll know  _ something.  _

It takes a moment, but she nods. “It’s a good choice. Did you think of any names yet?”

The Girl nods and clears her throat. “Dawn, Clara, Soliel, Aurora, Cassandra, Thea, Helena, Iliana…” She trails off, confidence fading to uncertainty. “I like Thea and Clara the best, I think.”

Maya has a soft smile on her face. “You can try them all out if you want to, but I think Thea is my favorite.”

“Poison?” The Girl glances towards them.

They meet her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Thea. If you like it, then keep it, if y’ end up hatin’ it, you can always pick another, yeah? I think it’s sweet.”

She grins and sinks back in her seat, tracing the shape of the letters in the air.  _ Thea.  _

⁂

The car ride isn’t very long, in all honesty. It’s late afternoon when they pull up to the Mailbox. There’s piles of offerings surrounding it, candles and flowers and little trinkets. New messages have been written on the side-

_ See you soon. _

_ It’s over. _

_ Sleep well. _

-and the air around it is peaceful, warm, comforting. To everyone, it feels a little like coming home.

“I guess this is goodbye,” Poison says quietly, turning their mask over in their hands. They sniffle faintly, and reach into their pocket. They pull out the toy they’d gotten at the market, and present it to Thea. “You liked that robot when you were little…”

Thea takes it and turns it over in her hands. It’s red and yellow and blue and green, with little wings attached to the back. It’s clearly well-loved, and it’s been repainted several times. “Thanks, Poison,” she says eventually, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Poison murmurs, pulling Thea into a tight hug. “But this was nice, yeah? Not every day someone gets brought back from th’ dead.” 

She giggles, burying her face in their shoulder. “I know. It still kinda sucks, but I’ll write you letters. The Witch  _ is  _ my other mom, after all.”

They grin. “I’ll make sure to write back about all the parties we’re having in th’ afterlife.”

Thea lets go of them, wiping tears from her face. “You better, or I’ll kick your ass.”

Maya steps forward and grasps their forearm. “Thank you for taking care of my daughter,” she says quietly. “And for helping her find a name.” Her voice is warm, and she smiles at them. 

She and Thea will carve out a life for themselves in the coming months. They’ll find a nice little house with a garden on the outskirts of the City. Thea will get a little green motorcycle, and learn mechanics, maybe find a nice girl. Maya will be content to watch the City and the Zones rebuild together as something better than before, find her old friends, and the Witch will visit her while she dreams.

“That was all you,” Poison responds, brushing it off. “But I really appreciate you letting me stay- I’ll miss you guys. I wish we could’ve gotten to know each other better.”

Maya nods and moves back. 

Poison sighs again, looking down at their mask. It’s unchanged from when they’d inspected it yesterday, but it’s still odd, to know they’re holding their soul in their own hands, the last real connection the Desert has to the golden age of killjoys (of the fabulous kind.) But the Mailbox seems to reach out. They miss their family, and Thea has her own, now. 

“No time like the present,” they say, and hold the mask out to Thea. “You wanna do the honors?”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @[mousekats!](https://mousekats.tumblr.com)  
> love u guys!


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